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Science & Technology
科技版塊
Communications in a war zone
戰區的通訊
Skywaves and satellites
“天波”和衛星
Technologies old and new may help keep Ukrainians in touch with the world
新老技術都有可能助于烏克蘭與世界保持聯系
In communist Eastern Europe a shortwave radio was a vital piece of equipment for anyone wanting to stay ahead of the censors.
在共產主義的東歐，短波收音機對于任何想要領先于監察者的人來說都是一件至關重要的設備。
Stations such as the bbc World Service, Radio Free Europe and Voice of America broadcast news, entertainment and rock-and-roll across the Iron Curtain.
BBC世界廣播電臺、自由歐洲電臺和美國之音等電臺跨越鐵幕廣播新聞、娛樂和搖滾樂。
After the cold war ended, shortwave radios gave way to television and the internet, and the broadcasts were wound down.
冷戰結束后，短波收音機讓位于電視和互聯網，廣播也隨之減少。
But on March 3rd, in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the bbc announced their return.
但在3月3日，在俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭之后，BBC宣布了它們的回歸。
The World Service has begun nightly news broadcasts into Ukraine and parts of Russia.
國際廣播電臺已經開始對烏克蘭和俄羅斯部分地區進行夜間新聞廣播。
Radio is an early-20th-century technology.
無線電是一項20世紀初的技術。
But the bbc hopes it can still be useful in the internet age because it is hard to stop.
但BBC希望它在互聯網時代仍可發揮作用，因為它很難停止。
Shortwave signals bounce off the ionosphere, a layer of charged particles high in the atmosphere.
電離層是大氣中的一層帶電粒子層，短波信號會從電離層反射回來。
The resulting "skywave" travels for thousands of kilometres, meaning broadcasters can sit safely beyond the reach of censors, secret policemen -- and invading armies.
由此產生的“天波”可以傳播數千公里，這意味著廣播公司可以安全地坐下來，不受監察人員、秘密警察和軍隊的影響。
And in Ukrainian cities like Mariupol, where days of shelling have left the place without electricity, battery-powered radios still work when the internet and television do not.
在馬里烏波爾這樣的烏克蘭城市，連日來的炮擊已經造成斷電，在互聯網和電視癱瘓的情況下，電池供電的收音機仍然可以使用。
Ukraine's government does rely on the internet where it can, though, to fight the public-relations war and to keep communication with the outside world alive.
不過，烏克蘭政府確實依賴互聯網來打公關戰，同時保持與外部世界的有效溝通。
In the past few days, for example, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president, has addressed America's Congress, the European Parliament and Britain's House of Commons via a video link.
例如，在過去的幾天里，總統弗拉基米爾·澤連斯基通過視頻鏈接向美國國會、歐洲議會和英國下議院發表了講話。
With Russian troops massing near Kyiv, ground-based internet links are unlikely to last.
隨著俄羅斯軍隊在基輔附近集結，地面互聯網連接不太可能持續下去。
But, on February 28th, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's vice-prime minister, thanked Elon Musk, an American entrepreneur, for a delivery of "Starlink" satellite-internet dishes.
但是，在2月28日，烏克蘭副總理米哈伊洛·費多羅夫感謝美國企業家埃隆·馬斯克送來了“星鏈”（Starlink 是馬斯克公司的私人軌道衛星網絡）。
These can provide high-speed, low-latency access to the internet via a network of low-flying satellites run by SpaceX, one of Mr Musk's companies.
這些設備可以通過由馬斯克的公司之一SpaceX運營的低空衛星網絡提供高速、低延遲的互聯網接入。
A few days later Mr Musk said SpaceX had modified the dishes' software to allow them to be powered by a car's cigarette lighter.
幾天后，馬斯克表示，SpaceX已經修改了設備的軟件，允許它們由汽車打火機供電。
That could prove useful if and when the siege of Kyiv begins in earnest.
如果對基輔的圍困真正開始，這可能會被證明是有用的。
